Girls advance to state for third time in 4 seasons
By Chris Bennett
Sports Correspondent
A cheerleading renaissance is in its infancy at Burlington High School.
The Demons advanced to the Wisconsin Association of Cheer and Pom Coaches State Cheer Championships for the third time in four seasons this season. The WACPC held its state meet Feb. 28 in Madison at the Alliant Energy Center.
“We didn’t do as well as we were hoping for,” coach Haley Krupp said. “I wasn’t even expecting to make it to state. Even getting there was an accomplishment in and of itself.”
The Demons finished seventh in the All-Girl Division 1 Small category. The “small” designator refers to the size of the team, not the size of the school.
Badger won the All-Girls Division1 Small state title. Madison LaFollette finished second and Brookfield East third.
The squad at state consisted of seniors Ramsy Kasta, Julianne Krusemark and Kaitlyn Bonton. Juniors include Aubree Grant, Amelia Hennegan and Katie Dodge. Sophomores Roslyn Sturm and Yunuen Sanchez and freshman Alex Driscoll round out the lineup.
Burlington advanced to state after finishing fourth in its division Feb. 21 at Wilmot High School in the WACPC Regional Cheer Championships. The Demons competed in the southern regional.
Krupp said the Demons competed in the non-stunt division in past years. She made changes in her first season as coach.
“This year, I decided we would compete in the stunt division,” Krupp said. “Being in Division 1, it’s a very different division. There’s a lot of really good teams.”
Krupp is a 2012 Burlington graduate and a social work major at UW-Whitewater, where she also cheers for football and girls’ basketball. She coached girls at Burlington this season with whom she cheered just a few years ago.
“I think, for me, because I was part of the program, I was familiar with how it operated and how the previous coach ran things,” Krupp said.
Krupp cheered from the Demons as a junior and senior. She said she expected more from her high school cheerleading experience, and also said she questioned how the student body viewed cheerleading.
“I also felt, even a student at Burlington, the student body and even the staff didn’t respect the squad and see it as a positive,” Krupp said. “I think, after this season, we’ve definitely had a lot more recognition from the staff.”
Krupp said Burlington Activities and Athletics Director Eric Plitzuweit’s attendance at the state competition did not go unnoticed. Krupp also said students and staff responded positively to the Demons’ performing their state routine at halftime of a basketball game prior to competing at state.
“At school the next week everyone was telling them how great they did,” Krupp said. “I think it’s been really nice. People are understanding the sport a little bit better and giving the girls the recognition they deserve.”
The recognition did not come without trials and sweat. The Demons started in mid-August, and did a lot of conditioning to prepare for the faster pace at which they executed.
Krupp, who cheered for several years with Rage All-Star Cheer, employed a choreographer for the Demons’ routine.
“The routine was much more demanding,” Krupp said. “The skills were a lot more advanced than what they had been doing.
“Not that they weren’t capable of doing them in the past – I just don’t think they were ever pushed as hard as they were pushed this year.”
Don’t expect the pushing to stop anytime soon. Krupp’s goals for the Demons are lofty.
“Ultimately, my goal is to be able to win state,” Krupp said. “Even making it this year, I did not think that was going to be possible, just with all of the changes I made and the girls getting used to a new coach. They had a lot of obstacles to overcome this year.”
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